Speeches

Mr President, this debate says one simple thing: the European right has chosen to ally itself with the far right, ready to do anything, even trampling on the rule of law, copying the American ECI, allowing raids on housing, tracking down migrants, locking up children. For us, it’s no! It is not because it is unworthy. It is not because it is contrary to everything Europe claims to be. The hubs back? Outsourced camps to expel out of sight, to hide rights violations. And for that, you are ready to deal with autocrats, as in Tunisia, where opponents are imprisoned, where a lawyer, Ayachi Hammami, went on a hunger strike for more than 40 days without getting the attention of the European Union. His crime? Defend the law! Migration has become your obsession, your totem, your renunciation. We reject this Europe: a Europe of fear, a Europe that sacrifices its principles! We stand for a Europe proud of law, dignity and humanity!

Madam President, sanctions against the International Criminal Court, against our civil society partners, our judges, our former Commissioners; bombing; kidnapping of a dictator; unwavering support for genocide; haggling for a Nobel Peace Prize; withdrawal of international organisations; end of international humanitarian aid; contempt for law and the United Nations; trade war: Here is the summary. A year of U.S. 47th President's foreign policy. The international order based on law threatens to collapse. And what is Europe doing? She's been quiet for too long. She's shaking. Wake up! It's now or never. The European promise is in our hands. Activate blocking statute and the anti-coercion instrument. Let us express our full support for the ICC, the United Nations, civil society and democrats around the world. Let us build the necessary alliances for democracy and support for international law. Every Member State here has a lot to lose. Let us unite and protect ourselves against today's United States.

Mr President, since 8 January, the Iranian population cut off from the world has been massacred by a theocratic regime that has been killing, torturing, violent and repressing for 50 years. But the population holds. As with the "Women Life, Freedom" movement, she doesn't let go. His courage is matched only by his thirst for freedom. But I want to warn us Europeans: Let us not be little Trumps, ready to wipe our feet on this courage. One does not choose from one's couch a leader for a people. Our role is to support all democratic forces methodically crushed by the mullahs' regime. We must support civil society, play into the hands of international institutions, call for a Security Council, investigate so that we can prosecute those responsible tomorrow. Only the people can decide their future. It is valid for Greenland, it is valid for Ukraine. This applies to Venezuela. And that's true for Iran.

Madam President, Commissioner, on this International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, let us recall that rape is used as a weapon of war in Sudan. It should also be remembered that, since the capture of El Fasher, 3,000 people have been massacred. Stopping this massacre must be an emergency for the European Union. This conflict, as we know, is fuelled by foreign powers for the control of the country's wealth. The Arab Emirates, for example, is transferring our weapons despite the arms embargo we have adopted. Meanwhile, the EU is negotiating a free trade agreement with the Arab Emirates. That explains the Commission's silence. But this passivity makes us complicit. In the midst of the EU-Africa Summit, our responsibility is immense. We must impose a ceasefire, a total arms embargo, a humanitarian corridor and put pressure on the support of the belligerents. Europe must come out of silence and inaction. She has to act and fast.

Madam President, yesterday, High Representative Kaja Kallas implied that the sanctions against Israel could be abandoned if the ceasefire were to hold and humanitarian aid returned to Gaza. But beware, ladies and gentlemen, there is a mistake about the goods. First of all, it's not a ceasefire. Since October 10, 97 dead, 153 tons of bombs dropped in one day, by Netanyahu's own admission, and only 300 humanitarian aid trucks returned instead of the planned 600. So all right, you want to believe in the ceasefire, but how does that erase two years of genocide? With this plan, you will not erase European complicity as Netanyahu erased Gaza from the map of the Middle East. How to forget the use of famine? How can we forget the journalists, the humanitarians killed? Even if weapons are silent and humanitarian aid is pouring in, the EU must impose sanctions, suspend the Association Agreement, and support the ICC, the only condition for a lasting, just peace and a two-state solution.

Mr. Speaker, two years after October 7, we pay tribute to the victims of the massacres, the hostages still held and their families who are still waiting. Our commitment to their release remains total. But Prime Minister Netanyahu's failed. He used the plight of families to justify a devastating war, abandoning his own to pursue an eradication goal: that of the Palestinian people in Gaza. And while we are debating here, the European Union welcomes a so-called peace plan shaped without the Palestinians, which endorses the occupation and organizes settlement under tutelage. But how can you talk about peace when international law is trampled on, when an army is leading a documented, claimed, undeniable genocide before our eyes? A life is worth a life. To forget this truth is to renounce our humanity. It is a betrayal of the values we have always defended. Europe cannot stand still and complacent; She mustn't let it happen. Let us not let go of law or sanctions and let us not forget any of the victims, both Israeli and Palestinian.

Madam President, after 23 months of genocide yesterday, we observed a minute of silence for Gaza. As I speak, 1 million Gazans have been ordered to leave the northern part of the Strip. Israel continues its ethnic cleansing. And we, what do we do? Our first minute of silence. Gazans have only one choice, exile or death. And we Europeans have contributed to this crime and are complicit and guilty. Guilty of supplying weapons, guilty of refusing to impose the entry of humanitarian aid, guilty of not sanctioning Israel, guilty of turning a blind eye to the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Enough silence! Suspend the Association Agreement, move on to sanctions, the arms embargo, isolate Israel on the international stage! The Palestinians don't need our minute of silence. They need our actions. Then it's time to act.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, on 4 September, the Trump administration decided to sanction three Palestinian NGOs: the NGO Al-Haq, the Al-Mezan Centre for Human Rights and the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR). The PCHR is, as I speak, being bombed by the Israeli army. The American position is in a way a license to kill. These associations help to support the civilian population. They document human rights violations committed by the Israeli authorities and the Israeli army. They are involved in documenting what is happening in Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem. These three NGOs are in addition to the NGO Addameer, which supported Palestinian political prisoners and was sanctioned before the summer. These associations are partners of the EEAS. They are partners of the European Union. It is our partners, we Europeans, who are in favour of the two-state solution, who are in favour of peace. Peace and justice will not be achieved without a Palestinian partner. That is why you are being asked to put this item on the agenda, so that we do not look elsewhere when essential partners are disappearing.

Mr President, as we debate the peace agreement between the DRC and Rwanda, I would first like to remind the Congolese that they will always find me on the side of peace, to rejoice when the weapons are silent and the blood stops flowing. But they will never find me on the side of those who rob their sovereignty and wealth. To work for peace is above all to work for justice. However, Donald Trump is pursuing the same imperialist logic as in Ukraine: As soon as the agreement was signed, he welcomed the fact that he had obtained a large part of the mining rights in the DRC. This agreement does not guarantee lasting peace, it does not recognise the responsibility of the Rwandan aggressor and does not require any reform on the part of the Congolese government. This agreement only guarantees foreign control over the DRC's resources. This agreement is also the failure of the European Union, which should have embodied a different path for peace: that of justice. It is your failure, Mr Síkela, you who, a few months ago, claimed not to be aware of Rwanda’s actions in the DRC. It is time to act: Stop doing nothing or being complicit!

Madam President, Gaza, Palestine, the Middle East, we have been talking about this here for twenty-one months, again and again. We talked about the evidence of the ongoing genocide, we talked about the logics of apartheid, we talked about all the elements that constitute ethnic cleansing. But what have we done? So, for once, I am not going to talk here about hungry children, hospitals destroyed, civilians killed during the distribution of bread. No, I'm going to talk about us, about Europe. Gaza has become the mirror of our impotence. In the face of Trump's wanderings, we will ditch ourselves; in the face of attacks on the ICC we are not triggering the blocking process; When it flies over Greece, France or Italy, Netanyahu is not stopped. What weakens us is not the absence of allies. We could have the whole global South aligned with us. What weakens us is our inability to act, to enforce international law, to arrest Binyamin Netanyahu and his deadly logic! Wake up – pass this message on to Ms Kallas. I say this to my EPP colleagues: Wake up! A continent that wants its security without its sovereignty will have neither. History will judge you, and it will judge you harshly!

Mr President, this debate should have focused on a single issue, the Association Agreement between the European Union and Israel. It's not a matter of words, it's a matter of courage. For once, Europe can and must act. But instead of acting, you speak, you procrastinate, you reevaluate. So I ask Mrs Kallas: What remains to be reassessed in terms of human rights? Forced displacement of populations: done; massacres of civilians, women and children: done; hospitals destroyed, aid workers deliberately killed: done; targeted journalists: done; destruction of infrastructure: done; Deprivation of access to water: done; Use of famine as a weapon of war: done. Even the Genocide box is ticked. But that, Mrs Kallas, and the Commission, you must know, since a secret 2024 EU report documents all the violations for which Israel is responsible. What is the justification for continuing to evaluate this association agreement? So tell me, on what does this "nothing" rest, on what moral vacuum, on what European renunciation and on what sense of impunity too? Without Europe, Israel would not have all these financial and military means. If you do not suspend this agreement, Mrs Kallas, you will be responsible for a voluntary contribution to the continuation of this genocide. So, please, act!

Madam President, "Real risk of genocide": this warning from the International Court of Justice has been ringing for a year and a half and there is still no action by Member States. Three months ago, Mme Kallas renewed its support for Israel at an Association Council. From silence to complicity, we are now told to re-examine the Association Agreement. Save yourself the exercise, Commissioner, open a newspaper, read reports from the UN, NGOs, or just listen to the Israeli government. We are not facing a humanitarian disaster, but a denial of humanity. Israel claims it loud and clear: This is an ongoing genocide. The time you're going to try to win is complicity. This is the time when Gazans lose their lives. This is a time when the European Union loses credibility, and I am absolutely aware of what I am saying. History will judge. Pronounce sanctions, declare an arms embargo now, otherwise you will find yourself on the bench of the accused.

Madam President, I would like to make a point of order under Rule 40 of the Rules of Procedure. This afternoon, the Chamber will debate the European response to the planned takeover of the Gaza Strip by the Israeli authorities, as well as ways to deliver humanitarian aid and release hostages. It's no longer a project: since last Sunday, this intervention is already a reality, with the effects that we know. Moreover, to link this invasion to the delivery of humanitarian aid and the release of hostages is to mislead our debate. Nothing can justify this attack. Nothing but the extreme right can justify the violation of human rights. The title of our debate is not up to the moment. You should have taken the time, together with the group presidents, to change it.

Madam President, I shall take two lessons from the negotiation of this resolution. The first is that blind ideology: Obsessed with the protection of Christians alone, the right and some far-right groups almost invisibilized hundreds of thousands of civilian victims. The second is that the influence reveals the look: A few weeks after pointing out here the responsibility of Rwanda and its armed extension, the M23, we almost had a text that erased any reference to Rwandan interference in the DRC. Fortunately, progressives and environmentalists have resisted. We were more than an alert: A reminder of truth and justice. Three major achievements have been reintroduced into the text: mention of Rwanda’s support for the M23, recognition of Rwanda’s destabilising role and warning about EU funding for Rwandan troops in Mozambique, without any guarantee that they would indirectly serve the M23. The final text will not be that of renunciation. It will not discredit this Parliament. We must learn the lesson from such alliances and their dangerousness.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, the High Representative, the world is collapsing, silently, before our eyes, and Europe is silent. Faced with imperialism and populism, the European Union gives the impression of apologising instead of resisting. We hesitate to denounce Trump for fear of provoking a whim or an unhealthy reaction. On the contrary, the European Union should proudly set itself up as a counter-model, shouting at the world the right to justice, diversity and dignity! But what are you still afraid of? It is already trampling on international law, it is already supporting war criminals, it is already weakening humanitarian aid, health, education... Mrs Kallas, Europe must stop whispering, it must face its project with pride, with determination! It must defend the International Criminal Court, demand the fight against all domination and manage its borders with humanity. Faced with the law of the strongest, be justice!

Madam President, My point of order is based on Article 40 and compliance with Articles 2 and 6 TEU. This week, Viktor Orbán has planned to welcome Benjamin Netanyahu to European soil. I recall that Mr Netanyahu is under investigation and is subject to an arrest warrant by the International Criminal Court – the ICC – for war crimes and crimes against humanity. Hungary, as a State Party to the Rome Statute and a member of its Assembly, can only cooperate with the ICC. Failure to do so deliberately tramples on our international commitments. I solemnly ask you, Madam President, to remind Mr Orbán of his obligations: respect international law and the rule of law, and not betray the fundamental values of the Union. I would also ask you to remind the President of the Commission of her duty to activate blocking status to oppose the extraterritoriality of Mr Trump’s sanctions. The ICC is our court. Protecting it means defending our sovereignty.

Madam President, even in the absence of our High Representative, I would like to address her. Ms Kallas, you recently held an Association Council with Israel. But how could you? How could you maintain this agreement unconditionally, without demands, without a word for humanitarian law? How could you close your eyes when the European Union had a lever, a weight, a voice? From this abdication, let's face reality: The ceasefire is dead, buried under the bombs. Humanitarian aid is strangled. Not a bag of flour, not a can of water enter Gaza. Israel plunged Gaza into darkness: 600 000 people have no electricity, no water, no hope. On the West Bank side, 40,000 people have fled, driven from their camps by the Israeli army, and abuses are only increasing. What is Europe doing? She's looking away. Our responsibility is overwhelming. We had a duty: prevent the worst, but we let it happen. We had a principle: the human rights clause. But you trampled her. Madam High Representative, there is a word for what you have just done: the complacency. And history will remember a word: the cowardice.

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, the world we have known is no more. The one that the European project dreamed of will not be born by magic, even with €800 billion in investment in armaments. Money is essential, but not in any way. It must not come from the structural funds or the agricultural funds. It must finance a European defence industry and ensure the interoperability of our forces, not fuel foreign interests. Money alone is not enough. Without political will and a common defense strategy, these billions will only serve Trump's plans. Our strategy must be based on our emancipation from American defence and on a permanent European force, with its own command and capable of defending our interests and values. It must be based on respect for international law, a right that we must uphold, from Gaza to Ukraine. Our place is with the people who are fighting for justice. We should have stood by South Africa before the International Court of Justice. We should have supported the Arab League in its plan to rebuild Gaza in the face of Trump's diktat. The European Union can no longer remain a spectator. It can no longer remain silent about the great initiatives of our world. She no longer has the right to be afraid. It must emancipate itself and act.

Madam President, never since the Second World War have we needed so much international justice. And yet, with terrible brutality, Trump has just undermined, attacked and perhaps even ended the International Criminal Court. And what does Europe do? She deplores, she regrets, she condemns. But these are just words. When are we gonna do this? We have a tool that allows us to preserve the International Criminal Court. The International Criminal Court is the direct heir to the Nuremberg Tribunal. That is what it represents. When will the Commission finally decide to activate the Blocking Statute to protect it? When are we gonna do this? Failure to do so would be a moral bankruptcy and a challenge to our sovereignty. Because in deciding to sign the Treaty of Rome, we made the International Criminal Court our court. Donald Trump is attacking a court that is ours. When are we going to take stock of the situation and act?

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, behind every disappearance there are families and communities who suffer from uncertainty about the fate of their loved ones. However, depending on where it happens in the world, the problem may become secondary to the international community. These disappearances are commonplace in all conflicts: This is the case of Ukrainian children torn from their families by the Russian regime. This is the case of the Israeli hostages captured by Hamas. But so are the thousands of Palestinian civilians killed anonymously or imprisoned in secret. This is the case for families separated by war or forcibly recruited children in the DRC or Sudan. This is the case of mass graves found in Ukraine, Gaza, DRC or Syria. Our outrage must not be selective. All these horrors are outlawed by international humanitarian law. The belligerents are obliged to prevent disappearances and to provide information on the death or detention of persons. Yet impunity prevails and the families of the disappeared continue to be devastated. Can we hope for peace if we do not guarantee the application of international law through justice? I therefore call for the protection of international justice tools, first and foremost the International Criminal Court, which is investigating in the DRC as well as in Sudan, which has prosecuted Vladimir Putin, Benjamin Netanyahu or Hamas cadres for their crimes against humanity. The families of the disappeared are entitled to justice. This is the only viable path to peace.

Mr President, finally a ceasefire. A relief for the hostages, as well as for the people of Gaza, but it is far too late: 15 months, not only of war, but of genocide. Fifteen months of moral bankruptcy of the European Union and our Member States. Fifteen months of international law with variable geometry and denial of our values. These 15 months, which have brought absolutely nothing to the goal of peace, will remain an indelible task in our national histories. Let's not steal from each other anymore! This ceasefire must be permanent. International law must be applied. This is the only way for Palestine and Israel to break the deadlock: we must bring those responsible for the genocide to justice and force Israel to end the siege of Gaza, the occupation and colonisation. We must also support UNRWA, and for this I continue to call for the arms embargo and the suspension of the Association Agreement as long as Israel pursues an apartheid policy and does not comply with international law.